Israeli authorities have informed the family of Imad Sarhan, a 47-year-old Palestinian prisoner from Haifa, that he died in Gilboa Prison after suffering what officials described as a heart attack. No further details were provided. The death is the latest in a growing number of prisoner fatalities reported since the outbreak of the Gaza war on Oct. 7, 2023. In a joint statement, the Palestinian Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoners Club said Sarhan had been imprisoned since 2001 and was serving a life sentence. The organizations said he was subjected to lengthy and harsh interrogations during the early years of his detention, including systematic torture that left lasting health complications and contributed to a gradual deterioration in his condition. They also cited repeated periods of solitary confinement. According to the statement, Sarhan developed chronic cardiovascular illnesses during his imprisonment, including heart, arterial and vascular diseases, as well as high blood pressure. His health deteriorated to the point that he needed a wheelchair in recent years. The groups said Sarhan was a victim of medical negligence and abusive prison policies, stressing that his death reflected broader conditions facing Palestinian prisoners, particularly since the start of the Gaza war. Human rights groups and Palestinian prisoner advocates have repeatedly pointed to worsening conditions in Israeli prisons over the past two years, including restrictions on medical care, overcrowding, harsh disciplinary measures, and limited contact with families. The Palestinian Prisoners Club has also raised concerns about outbreaks of scabies among detainees, accusing Israeli prison authorities of maintaining conditions that facilitate the spread of disease by limiting access to cleaning supplies, showers, and fresh clothing. Prison conditions worsened after Itamar Ben-Gvir became Israel’s national security minister in late 2022. Ben-Gvir claimed that prisoners had been receiving excessive privileges and ordered stricter regulations, including reductions in food allocations, shower time, outdoor recreation, and family visits. Palestinian organizations said those restrictions intensified significantly after October 2023. The Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs and the Prisoners Club said the prison system has since adopted harsher policies involving abuse, starvation, medical neglect, and prolonged isolation. They criticized the continued restrictions on monitoring visits by the International Committee of the Red Cross and limits on communication between prisoners and their families. According to the groups, Sarhan’s death raises the number of Palestinian prisoners whose deaths have been announced since the start of the Gaza war to 90. They said the total number of prisoner deaths documented since 1967 now stands at 327. The organizations held Israeli authorities fully responsible for Sarhan’s death and renewed calls for international legal action and accountability. As of June 2026, they said, more than 9,400 Palestinians were being held in Israeli prisons, including 3,324 administrative detainees and 1,316 prisoners classified by Israel as “unlawful combatants.”
